This is a blog I've started to help me deal with the diagnosis of having gastroparesis. It was suggested to me that a blog/diary might help me feel better by venting my frustrations and struggles. Also, I hope I can help others who may have the same thing through my own experiences.
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Friday, May 29, 2009

So, I made it to Montana after 34 hours of sitting in the car. We took a detour to Chicago, since we had never been. I got to see Lake Michigan and eat Chicago deep dish pizza. It was pretty nice. We walked around Lake Michigan to a man made beach and watched seagulls for a while. Then, we headed for Mount Rushmore. We ended up going through Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Minnesota, and then Montana (not exactly in that order) which was nice because I have never seen most of the states just listed. We saw Mount Rushmore, which wasn't really as impressive as I thought it was going to be. It was a lot smaller than I imagined. Also, we saw the Crazy Horse Memorial that they are still working on. It was pretty big.

After we got to Montana, we checked into the dorms. Yesterday was the first day of field camp. I actually was able to keep up with the group but lacked my knee brace. :( I paid for that today. I saw four rattlesnakes yesterday and two eagles. I also saw deer and antelope. There are a lot of critters out here. I don't know how I feel about the mapping portion yet. My lines are off and we have to make a cross section that's due Monday. I'm not sure mine is going to be correct. I'm a bit nervous about it but my classmates have been really helpful and we've had study sessions to go over what we've done so far. I'd say that we've hiked about 10 or so miles so far but that has been over anticlines and synclines...so very steep hills. One was almost the size of a mountain. It's wearing on me but I think I'll be better for it in the long run. My hiking poles are definitely proving to be really useful! They saved me from falling on my butt so many times today.

Today, I saw two snakes. One was a pretty big rattlesnake that almost struck at a classmate of mine. He didn't rattle at first and he was hiding under a rock that my classmate walked over. Thankfully, my classmate wasn't injured and was able to move quickly away from the snake. It was a bit scary. The second snake was in brush and rattled to let us know...so there were no issues.

We've seen Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary rock so far. There's been an abundance of sandstone, shale, limestone, conglomerate, and volcanic tuff. It's been amazing to see the different rock types. Limestone has been really soft and easy to identify...even without acid. It's a grayish color that can be scratched easily with a rock hammer. I need to find a way to take pictures so that I can show everyone when I get home. The anticline is really big and really interesting. It folded into a syncline, which I had also never seen in person before.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

I went to the orthopedist today to get his opinion on my injury. After a three hour long wait just to get back to a room and a couple of x rays, the doctor decided that I dislocated my patella and I've managed to tear the tiny ligaments around the patella. He advised me to wear a special brace that holds my knee cap in place. It hurts SO badly! I really want to take it off but I can't. This injury is going to take six weeks to heal and I will have to go physical therapy. I don't know how excited I am about that. However, I'll be very happy if this heals before I leave for field camp. So, I will do what I have to do. Blarg.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

So, I missed the geology field trip that my structural class went on today. I emailed the professor to remind him about the doctor's note I handed him a week earlier. I now have to do a second presentation in addition to the one that I'm giving this week, which I really need to work on tomorrow. I don't know if I have to do a second research paper or not, probably. Blah. I hate writing research papers. This doesn't include the fact that I have no idea what's going on in structure half of the time so I am scared to present a paper and a presentation to be critiqued by an expert. My mineralogy professor said last semester that I didn't have enough confidence in myself while presenting. I don't think that's true because I think I just get very nervous. Anyway, my leg hurts and I'm on pain medicine...so I'm going to go to sleep now.

So, I managed to hurt my knee while hiking on a Geology field trip. My professor took us up and down very steep inclines...(not really hills...they were steeper than that) and I managed to put all of my weight on my right leg and strained the heck out of it. I haven't been able to put weight on it since and this took place on March 21st. So, I've been pretty much trying to keep off of it and have been on pain medicine. I went for an MRI and the doctor told me the results yesterday. Apparently, the ligaments are intact but my bones in my knee are swollen. I didn't even realize that bones could swell. So, I have to see an orthopedist and possibly get steroid injections into my leg to make it feel better.

Additionally, I've also been working on August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone which is an upcoming production at my school. I'm one of three assistant stage managers. Needless to say, I h aven't been able to do very much since a majority of my job was walking around, setting up, etc. So, I feel really useless. Everyone has been really understanding but it still makes me feel bad. I'm getting paid the same amount as the other two assistants but I'm doing a lot less. To be fair, I tried to resign but the stage manager wouldn't let me. I have never worked with her before but she seems to like me ok. She keeps telling me that she's going to steal me and that I should change my major to theatre. I would love to do so as I've always loved theatre but I probably wouldn't make any money whatsoever. :( And, I really need to make money when I graduate so my husband can go to school. I think one of the ASMs really doesn't like me (it's the first time I've worked with her as well and she's not getting a very good first impression of me).

Anyway, tomorrow is another geology field trip. I have to go or else I'll have to write another research paper AND give another presentation. Now, the first one is due next week and I'm still working on it. The graduate students have to give two talks and two papers, so I'm lumped in with them if I don't go tomorrow. This rubbed me the wrong way because I had a guy in my class who missed the first field trip and he was told to write a paper...NOT a research paper or a presentation, but just a paper. This bugs me and makes me feel like my teacher either really hates me or is sexist...not sure which.

Also, I am pretty sure that I failed the test on Tuesday. Well, I'm pretty sure everyone in the class failed it because we usually do. On the last test, I made the lowest grade in the class. I hope that I was able to bring my grade up slightly so that he can see improvement for my final grade. I'm scared I'm either going to make a C or a D in his class. I was told he doesn't fail anyone, but I could very well be the first. It's not like I don't try and I don't study...but it's A LOT of information crammed into such a short period of time. I mean, I have mostly A's and B's on my transcript. I have a couple of C's but nothing lower than that. :/ I mean, I know I could be doing better but I'm trying my hardest. I've had a lot going on also. My mom had an accident and was in ICU for a bit, I broke my arm and had to have surgery, my mom's side of the family quit speaking to me because my uncle caused some issues, and just recently I injured my knee. I really need to write a book but no one would believe half of the things I've been through. I think I'm holding up rather well and making good grades despite everything else. It IS true that I procrastinate and that I can do better and I'm working on that. However, I managed to make all B's last semester even though I had surgery on my arm in the middle of the semester. My husband is a little worried that I'm going to flunk out of school. I'm not planning on it. I just have a little bit more left and then I graduate.